Tiramisu – a little pick me up

Tiramisu is one of my all time favourite desserts. It’s light and delicate with a not so subtle coffee kick. No wonder tiramisu translates to ‘a little pick me up’in Italian. This recipe is a cheat version as it uses freshly whipped cream instead of whisked egg whites but it’s quicker and easier to make.

Tiramisu is best prepared the night before you need it, so that the biscuits have softened and soaked in the creamy coffee goodness. Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients

250 g marscapone cheese

300 ml fresh whipping cream

2 tblsp castor sugar

200 g/250 g savoiardi biscuits (sponge finger biscuits)

1 cup espresso coffee (long black)

1/2 cup Tia Maria or Kahlua liquer (I’ve also used Marsala and brandy before too)

Unsweetened cocoa for dusting

Start by brewing a strong cup of black coffee. I prefer using freshly ground coffee beans as I’m a coffee snob, but instant coffee works well too. Let it cool.

In a mixer or using a hand held mixer, whisk the fresh cream until it starts to thicken. Start spooning in the marscapone one spoonful at a time and the castor sugar. Finish whisking when the mixture is firm and stiff but not so firm that the cream has started to curdle.

In a medium sized bowl pour in the cooled coffee and add the Tia Maria or Kahlua.

In a large serving bowl or dish, spread a small amount of the marscapone mix on the bottom. Dip a savoiardi biscuit in the coffee mix and lay it in the bowl. I like to get the biscuits nicely soaked, but not too soaked where the biscuit falls apart in your hands! Continue soaking the biscuits until one layer of biscuits have been added to the bowl. Spoon on around a third of the marscapone mix, spreading it evenly over the biscuit layer.

Repeat with another layer of soaked biscuits and a third of the marscapone mix. Repeat the biscuit layer and spoon and spread over another one third of the marscapone mix. Repeat again. You should end up with three layers of savoiardi biscuits. Keep it in the fridge and dust over with unsweetened cocoa before serving.

If you like your desserts to look a little less rustic (less messy), you can use a baking dish and cut the tiramisu into squares to serve instead.